Independence Day

August 15 was Indian Independence Day.  As you no doubt remember from the movie Gandhi, Indian independence was achieved without the revolutionary war typical of many struggles against colonialism.  Gandhi, the movie, was achieved without the song and dance numbers typical of a movie set in India.



At this point, you may be wondering about India's history.  So, after exhaustive research, I've complied the following Brief History of India.

• 3rd millenium BCE: Mohenjo-Daro, one of the first urban areas in the world, existed concurrent with civilizations in Egypt. An ancient Egyptian, needing help to set up his abacus, had to call tech services in Mohenjo-Daro.
• Sometime after that:  India consisted of a bunch of adjacent kingdoms which were at war with each other, unless they were united by marriage and, therefore, occupied with a different kind of war.
• Later: Aforementioned kingdoms were repeatedly invaded over centuries by Persians, who brought and established their religion, architecture, and non-vegetarian food.
• 1500s and 1600s: The British, French, Portuguese, and Dutch began trade through their East India Companies.
• After that: The French, Portuguese, and Dutch left because the Brits were unbearable when they were drunk (which was pretty much all the time - see next item).
• 1800s: The Brits brewed a strongly hopped ale that tolerated the journey from England to India and named it India Pale Ale. That, and the sandwich, are Great Britain's most important culinary contributions to the world.
• 1900s: Gandhi arrived from South Africa and opened his salt making and cloth weaving businesses, which spun off an Independence movement.
• 1947: India and Pakistan declared Independence from the UK, beginning the biggest rivalry in the history of international cricket.
• 1950s: Indians and Pakistanis began to migrate to London, introducing something entirely new - flavorful food.
• 1960s: Wishing to emulate the Beatles, young westerners flocked to India in search of spiritual enlightenment and unlimited weed.
• 1970s: Sitarist Ravi Shankar made his most important contribution to western music - Norah Jones (Geethali Norah Jones Shankar).
• 1990s: US Congress passed an immigration quota mandating that all Indian immigrants must be physicians, computer scientists, or know how to find the quickest route uptown from Greenwich Village in rush hour.
• 2000s: Mindy Kaling (Chokalingam) plays Kelly Kapoor, a customer service rep on The Office. Did you get that?  An Indian customer service rep working in America?

Well, before I bore you with too many facts about Indian history, let me get back to the observation of Independence Day.  The homeowners' association at Rajan and Manju's development held a flag raising ceremony.  It was exactly like an HOA gathering in the US: sparsely attended, a few short speeches, and children who would rather be playing.  The national anthem was sung and the flag was raised.

After some more souvenir shopping in Bengaluru, we headed back to Chennai.